Day 2, Part 1: Honduras 2012

  The majority of day 2 was much more light-hearted than day one. Still it started with a awesome story.
We got up that morning to go to church with one of the orphanages which a group from our church supports.  As I woke Pierson up he said,
"Mommy, I cried last night."
I said, "You did? Honey I am sorry I didn't hear you. Are you OK?"
He replied, "It's OK. I tried to be quiet. I was thinking about that little boy you were holding yesterday. It is so sad Mommy. Why did his Mom and Dad leave him? Why don't they love him anymore?"
I tried to explain it as best I could. I said "Possibly his parents couldn't afford to feed him or one of them was sick and they couldn't take care of him? I don't know why they left him but I am sure they still love him and I am sure they are very sad too."
His response was, "Mommy that just isn't fair we have to do something to help." He was waving his hands in disgust. "Just because they can't afford to feed him? They should still be a with him."
"You are right." I replied. "The best thing we can do now is to pray for them and pray for God to reunite them. We also need to pray for God to show us how to help all orphans."  And then he prayed the sweetest most genuine prayer asking God to be with that little boy, to help make him feel better and he asked God to show us how we can help change things so kids don't have to live in places like that...

This mom was so proud of her son and his little heart...
This is why we take our kids on mission trips. My greatest hope and greatest fear is that my children will grow to become Missionaries. That they will grow to make disciples of all Nations and they will be a part of changing the world one orphan at a time.

And so started day two...

         Off to church we went. We waited on the side of the road for a bit for directions to church. Our bus driver, Henry, was a funny guy! Pierson and Maylin loved him! And he was a great driver! Not too many people in Honduras can claim that! Jimmy, the Bed and Breakfast owner was a jokester too. He told us as we were piling in the bus that morning, "Henry is the 2nd best driver in Honduras!"  We all laughed assuming he meant that he was the best driver then he said, "The #1 driver died in a crash last week!" Then he belly laughed and left us in the care of Henry!  YIKES! lol
Henry actually was a very safe driver! And we appreciated it very much.

We went to church and man did we have church! It was all in Spanish but the American woman who runs one of the orphanages translated for us. It was about the Holy Spirit. It was a beautiful service. It lasted about 2 1/2 hours. You could feel the Holy Spirit moving! It was such a blessing.

Wendy holding the orphanage directors little girl. 

When church was over we walked with the kids back to their facility.  We took a short cut through... well...  the bush, for lack of a better word.

This facility was a breath of fresh air after the day before. The kids had personal space here. Their behavior was outstanding. They welcomed us in and gladly showed us their rooms and things. There were toys, a play ground. It was nice.  

Ask me what the difference is? I guess there are many factors but probably the three that are the most obvious are.
1. The love for Christ and each other.
2. It is set up like a home. The kids there are family. The house mother, Angie, is their mother. They have ownership of their personal belongings. They have chores and responsibilities.
3. US Sponsors.

It is very well run.

Pierson was playing with some of the kids. In the back ground you can see the other boy sweeping off the pavement.  He was very proud of taking care of their facilities and kept looking up with a proud grin to see if anyone noticed.
It really was amazing to see the difference between this private orphanage and the public one the day before. There are just NO comparisons.  If we could get sponsors for more orphanages... oh what a difference we could make in the lives of many more children.